With all the ruckus surrounding Facebook user data lately, people are rightly concerned about what their Facebook accounts reveal. The #deletefacebook movement has subsequently gained traction, with people dumping the social media giant completely. So, how do you delete your account and do you leave a digital footprint?
Deleting your Facebook account is reasonably easy (far easier than deleting an Adobe account).
- Once you’e logged into Facebook, go to Settings and then hit the Edit option on Manage Account
- You’ll then have two options – Deactivate your account or “request account deletion”.
If you choose to deactivate your account your profile will be disabled and your name and photo from most things that you’ve shared on Facebook. However, things like your name will still appear in your Friends’ list of friends and none of the messages you’ve sent will be removed.
Account deletion is a longer process that Facebook says can take up to 90 days. This is the time it takes for every trace of your presence on Facebook to be removed. However, once the deletion process starts, you’ll become invisible – no trace of you will be seen while the data deletion process is in progress.
Deleting your account is permanent – there’s no way to get your data back if you choose that path.
Deactivation is a good way to take a break from Facebook without having all your data removed.
Before deleting or deactivating an account – there’s one thing I reckon is worth considering. How will you keep in contact with people who rely on Facebook to stay in touch. While being concerned about privacy is important, don’t forget your real-world friends who rely on Facebook as a way of staying connected.
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